Construction of railway-tracks



(No Model.)

T. H. GIBBON. CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY TRACKS.

No. 320,869.. Patented June-23, 1885.

UNITED STATES ATENT rrrcn.

THOMAS H. GIBBON, OF ALBANY, NE\V YORK.

CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY-TRACKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 320,869, dated June 23, 1885.

Application filed April 24, 1885. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS H. GIBBON, of the city and county of Albany, State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in the Construction of Railway-Tracks, of which the following is a full and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part ofv this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of a railway-track embodying my invention; Fig. 2, an enlarged side elevation of my metallic sleeper and rail combination; Fig. 3, a plan view of the same; Fig. 4., a transverse section through my metallic tie and rail combination at the line a: a: of Fig. 2 on an enlarged scale; Fig. 5, an enlarged perspective end view of my metallic sleeper with the rail removed; Fig. 6, a perspective view of transverse tie-rod, and Fig. 7 a perspective view of rail with tongue mortised, and Fig. 8 a plan View of plate with groove and shoulder.

The object of my invention is to provide suitable appliances for building tram or steam railway-tracks in a permanent and substantial manner, to prevent the spreading and creeping of track, allowing the rails to expand and contract, and to dispense with the use of wooden ties, longitudinal stringers, nails, bolts, and spikes; and to this end my invention consists of a metallic tie and combination, a series of which form the bed for the rails, the said metallic tie being arranged in the track, so that the center of each tie will be immediately opposite the space between the ends of the two adjacent ties in the opposite track. A transverse tie-rod runs from each end of the tie, and each of said rods connects with the nearest end of the opposite located tie at right angles in such manner that each tie will be connected with two adjacent ties of the opposite track. A transverse tie-rod is fixed at each end, so as to extend at right angles therefrom, and is secured to the opposite metallic tie at its nearest end. By this means the two tracks are connected together bya system of bracing, as illustrated in Fig. 1, and when laid as above described the metallic tie is filled and surrounded with the ballast, and when running through cities the track is paved in the usual manner.

As shown in the drawings, A represents my metallic tie, which consists of an oblong metallic box opened at the top and bottom or perforated,its sides and ends inclined inwardly and upwardly, so as to produce a large bearingsurface for its base. Around the lower edge of said boX externally-projecting flanges a may be formed, and also on the upper edge of said box are internally and, externally projecting flanges a and a, and at each end of it are internally-projecting flanges or guides a formed on each side near each end of box, as shown on Fig. 5. Said flanges or guides are adapted to receive the tongue d,which runs along the entire length of rail D, thus affording greater strength and true alignment to the rail. The metallic box is provided with two mortises, b, immediately under the flange a on each side, near the end, and directly in line with the center line of each mortise b. A lug, E, with recesses e and e, or its equivalent,n1ay be formed to secure the head f and shoulder f on each end of transverse tie-rod F. A recess is formed at each end of said box to, receive the tongue d of rail D. The rail D is provided with a tongue, d, which is fitted to lie between the flanges or guides a. Said tongue is mortised, and'located so that the mortises d in tongue d shall be in line of mortise b, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, to receive a plate, G, which passes through mortises b and d, and thereby giving bearing for the rail and securing it to the tie. The plate G,which passes through the mortises b and d, is fitted with a shoulder, g, and a groove, 9, to receive a wedge, which absolutely locks the rails and metallic tie together, and thereby prevents the rails from becoming loose from lateral or vertical strains. The transverse tierods F of Fig. 6 are provided at both ends with cross-heads f, which fit into the recesses of the lug E in themetallic tie A, and said rods are arranged as shown in Fig. 1that is to say, so that the said rods running from one end of metallic tie will reach to the end recess of the nearest metallic tie under the opposite railand this arrangement of transverse tie-rods is maintained throughout the entire track. The metallic tie A should be so arranged in the track that the distances between the mortises in two adjacent ties on the same rail will be spaced at the same dis-.

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tanee apart, so that the middle of each tie will lie exactly opposite the space between the ends of the two adjacent ties of the opposite track, as shown in Fig. 1.

By constructing railway or tramway tracks as herein described I am enabled to dispense with the usual wooden cross-ties, longitudinal stringers, bolts, nails, and spikes and renewal of same, effecting a permanent and safe track, and a great reduction in the cost of construction over the present system.

I claim as my invention 1. A metallic sleeper consisting of an oblong metallic box opened at the top and bottom or perforated, and provided with horizontal external and internal flanges, a, a, a and a also having mortises I) on each side near the ends, and immediately under said TI-IOS. H. G IBBON.

Witnesses:

H. B. TUTTLE, J. B. WALDBILLIG. 

